'Gone Girl' Review

Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

Going into David Fincher's new film, it's easy to be deceived that this movie revolves around that question alone. I, myself was thinking it would be a stylish, investing, yet formulaic murder mystery, with a somewhat twist ending. Being a fan of Fincher, his name alone was enough to interest me, but I wasn't so sold on the plot, and definitely was wary of the casting. Never thought I'd ever pay to see a movie with Tyler perry among its leads, and I'm also not the biggest fan of Affleck, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Evidently, this mindset made the flick all the more enjoyable.

For those who have seen the trailers or any other promotional ads on television, you know the basic setup. Based on Gillian Flynn's 2012 novel of the same name (Flynn herself wrote the screenplay), 'Gone Girl' focuses on the disappearance of a beautiful housewife, Amy Elliot Dunn (played wonderfully by  Rosamund Pike). Her husband of five years, Nick (Ben Affleck), is the one who calls her in missing. After extensive research on their house and multiple days without a single trace of Amy, the story goes nation wide, and all fingers are pointed at Nick for killing his wife. Did Nick Dunne kill Amy Elliot?

This is literally all I can say about this film without going into deep spoiler territory. This movie doesn't have a twist ending, it has a twist second and third act. The reason the film looks so simple, is because the previews can only show the first act without giving any of the secrets away. It's brilliant advertising for a pretty brilliantly set up movie. I can't recall seeing a movie with this many twist and turns without it feeling over done and gimmicky. David Fincher plays the audience expertly. At this point in his career, he could do this kind of thing in his sleep. Subverting the audience's expectations is something he's done all the way back to the early days of his career with classics like 'Seven' and 'Fight Club'. Yet 'Gone Girl' deserves a lot of credit for flipping the audiences perspective on a character 180 degrees almost every ten to fifteen minutes. Even for a movie running at almost 150 minutes, it never slows down or feels like it needs to pick up the pace. You're always on the edge of your seat.

Credit must also be given to Gillian Flynn and David Fincher for making a movie that's both profoundly disturbing, violent, and yet still romantic and darkly (DARKLY) funny. The balancing act is quite mesmerizing. The first half of the film is quite dark, and you're reminded of Fincher's previous murder stories, such as 'Seven' or, more recently 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'. It has a very moody aura surrounding it's characters. Long still shots of backdrops, foggy alleyways and silhouettes projected of the dusk's orange sky perpetuate most of the film's early moments. Interestingly, this is when the film is at its most romantic. The contrast of these intimate love scenes being done in settings in which Fincher would usually be staging brutal murders or fast paced shootouts is a bit jarring at first. However, once blood starts being spilt, this is actually when the movie becomes a lot more fun. You get the feeling that Flynn and Fincher really begin to take the flick less seriously, and more in the vane of a pulp magazine. One of the only truly violent sequences starts out grim and serious, but goes on for such a ridiculous amount of time, you'd swear you were watching a Sam Raimi horror film. The movie's humorous tone is also much more present in its second half. The audience went mad with laughter, and judging by only their sounds, you'd swear you stepped into a Judd Apatow flick. Yet even with this, 'Gone Girl' never loses its artistic edge and tense pacing. 

The cast, while not what'd you'd expect from a director like Fincher, is also really solid. This is proof that with the right director, nearly anyone can give a good performance. Ben Affleck gives the best performance of his career. He never goes overboard, yet he's never too laid back. There's fear in Nick, yet it seems most apparent when the camera looms over Affleck for long periods of time without any dialogue. The supporting cast also brings their A-game. People like Carrie Coon, Tyler Perry(I know, I know. Crazy right?), Kim Dickens, Missi Pyle and David Clennon do a fine job with their characters. The only actor who's performance I have a sort of love/hate relationship with is Neil Patrick Harris'. I can't give away too much about him, but I think Fincher wanted him to play it in an over the top style, which he did, but I don't know if it fits with what the rest of the actors are doing. He still does share some of the film's most memorable moments. Yet, it's Rosamund Pike who really steals the show. Amy Dunne is one of the most interesting characters I've seen this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Pike wins an Oscar for her role.

'Gone Girl' is one of the coldest, sarcastic and bitter movies I've ever seen. Yet, it's my favorite studio film to come out this year. The movie juggles your emotions so constantly that you barely get a moment to breathe, yet that is exactly David Fincher's goal. By the end of 'Gone Girl' you feel dirty, but you can't wait to go through it again.

Grade:A-

Review by: Josh McCormack